Sustainable Living

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How and why we're makingSustainable LivingCommonplace

Our purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace. We are developing new business practices that grow both our company and communities, meeting people's desire for more sustainable products and creating a brighter future. The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan will help us double the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact. And we're working in partnerships where we can help change things on a global scale: deforestation and climate change; water, sanitation and hygiene; and sustainable agriculture and smallholder farmers.

The world is changing climate change is here

Temperatures
are rising

Water Shortages are more frequent

Food Supplies are increasingly scarce

Populations are growing fast

Making basic hygiene and sanitation even more of a challenge

And stretching the planet's resourcesfurther still

Yolanda KakabadsePresidentWWF International

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At Unilever we can see how people the world over are already affected by these changes

And the changes will pose new challenges for us too, as commodity costs fluctuate, markets become unstable and raw materials harder to source.

There is no 'business as usual' anymore. The old economic systems are no longer fit for purpose.

With products used by millions of people, we have an enormous opportunity to create change and are developing a new sustainable business model. A model in which:

Workplace rights and opportunitiesare improved and women get a fair deal

People'shealth & well-being are a priority

All agricultural raw materials come from sustainable sources

The Environment is Safeguarded for future generations

In 2010 we launched the UnileverSustainableLiving Plan which will help us double the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.

We have set three big goals. By 2020 we will:



Improve the health and well-being of more than a billion people



Halve

Halve

The environmental impact of our products



Enhance the livelihoodsof millions working across our value chain

By driving sustainability into every corner of our business the plan is opening up new opportunities and driving growth

Brands

More and more people are choosing brands with a social purpose, such as Dove and Lifebuoy.

Innovation

As consumers' needs change, we're concentrating on innovations such as laundry products that use less water.

Supply Chain

We are making our supply chain more secure by working with smallholder farmers to improve farming practices and livelihoods.



Promoting Sustainable Living

Through our brands we are also encouraging people to make smarter shopping choices and take sustainable actions at home.

Partnerships also give us the potential to change things on a global scale

There are three big issues we're working on with others

Tackling deforestation & climate change

Improving sanitation, hygiene & access to water

Championing sustainable agriculture & smallholder farmers

We are at a turning point in history

A point where we all need to change for human life on the planet to continue to prosper

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Populations are growing fast, making basic hygiene and sanitation even more of a challenge and stretching the planet's resources further still.

At Unilever we can see how people the world over are already affected by these changes. And the changes will pose new challenges for us too, as commodity costs fluctuate, markets become unstable and raw materials harder to source.

There is no 'business as usual' anymore. The old economic systems are no longer fit for purpose.

With products used by millions of people, we have an enormous opportunity to create change and are developing a new sustainable business model. A model in which:

workplace rights and opportunities are improved and women get a fair deal

people's health and well-being are a priority

all agricultural raw materials come from sustainable sources

the environment is safeguarded for future generations

In 2010 we launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan which will help us double the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact. We have set three big goals. By 2020 we will:

improve the health and well-being of more than a billion people

halve the environmental impact of our products

enhance the livelihoods of millions working across our supply chain.

By driving sustainability into every corner of our business, the Plan is opening up new opportunities and driving growth:

More and more people are choosing brands with a social purpose, such as Dove and Lifebuoy.

As consumers' needs change, we’re concentrating on innovations such as laundry products that use less water.

We are making our supply chain more secure by working with smallholder farmers to improve farming practices and livelihoods.

Through our brands and Project Sunlight we are also encouraging people everywhere to make smarter shopping choices and take sustainable actions at home.

Partnerships also give us the potential to change things on a global scale. There are three big issues we're working on with others:

Tackling deforestation and climate change

Improving sanitation, hygiene and access to water

Championing sustainable agriculture and smallholder farmers

We are at a turning point in history, a point when change is needed for the sake of all life on the planet.

The world needs a new business model with sustainability at its heart.

Only the businesses that grasp this will survive. Only those who grow sustainably will thrive.

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is our blueprint for achieving our vision to double the size of the business, whilst reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.

The Plan sets stretching targets to achieve by 2020 and includes how we source raw materials and how consumers use our brands. The scale of our ambition means that we are finding new ways to partner with others in business, government and society.

Faced with the challenge of climate change and the need for human development, we want to move towards a world where everyone can live well and within the natural limits of the planet. That’s why our purpose is ‘to make sustainable living commonplace’.

Improving nutrition

We will continually work to improve the taste and nutritional quality of all our products. The majority of our products meet, or are better than, benchmarks based on national nutritional recommendations. Our commitment goes further: by 2020, we will double the proportion of our portfolio that meets the highest nutritional standards, based on globally recognised dietary guidelines. This will help hundreds of millions of people to achieve a healthier diet.